


By the Dozen

by galacticyarn



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Fluff, Growing Up, Half Asian Struggles, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-17 05:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13652787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticyarn/pseuds/galacticyarn
Summary: Crying over Marui’s photo, crying over the mere thought of Marui having “fun” playing with Another Man, crying over Marui getting hurt during a match with said Another Man… Our Father, who art in Heaven, what did this all mean?





	By the Dozen

**Author's Note:**

> [These screencaps](http://galacticyarn.tumblr.com/post/169633518052/all-the-times-jackal-cried-over-bunta-so-far-the) of Jackal crying about Marui throughout Shinteni are so important and what inspired me to write this. Also [Yuushi catching Jackal spying](http://galacticyarn.tumblr.com/post/169637677342/jackal-gets-caught-checking-on-spying-on-marui-in) lol

Was this the beginning of those infamous teenage emotional roller coasters? Jackal was supposed to like glamorous and fair skinned girls, not…well, maybe fair skinned in comparison to himself but otherwise just a little glutton. A cheerful and expensive little glutton who was good at taking care of others, who prided himself in being a “genius” but sneakily asked for help with his science homework in exchange for helping Jackal with Japanese, not that he really needed it or anything but just so it was fair, you know? Those strange slang-y ways of speaking that didn’t fit with what Jackal had picked up from his mother and teachers, that particular obsession with sweets that was going to lead to diabetes… really, what was there to like about him?

\---

They met as children, Jackal sticking out horribly from everyone else in school, his dark skin and bald head making him the target for all sorts of finger pointing and name-calling and “hey, do you even speak Japanese? Ha, you can’t even understand that we’re insulting you!” The tiny island country was so different from his homeland of Brazil, no amount of his mother’s help could prepare him. What good did it do him, understanding all the things his mother said in her native tongue but fumbling in his own responses, having eaten a few of the foods, being told about some elements of the culture like Obon and hanami, if the other children avoided him, called him a liar, and all he could do was go home struggling not to cry? 

Marui had kept his distance, cautious of such an obvious foreigner, but when he found they could communicate through tennis and short dialogues, he started hanging around Jackal. He would grab Jackal by the hand and drag him to the convenience store, picking up tasty snacks by the dozen and lending Jackal his manga and returning the other kids’ stares and comments with his own. Eventually, the other students started leaving Jackal alone, and Jackal no longer stumbled so atrociously over the language that he had kind of grown up with but not really. 

When they started middle school, they decided to join the tennis club and try to play doubles with an eye toward Nationals. Finally, they made it through two years of training from hell, and here they were, third years, watching over Akaya. Unfortunately for Jackal, this new addition was proving to be a drain on his allowance because after food for Bunta (they were on a given name basis now), his next reason to spend was to keep Akaya supplied in all things that made him happy. Jackal thought he was being a good senpai—or maybe father was the better term, given his penchant for enka and his serious nature—he didn’t see how anybody could do it but he put up with it, quietly suffering out of love.

Wait, love? 

\---

Everything went to hell at U-17. Separated from his long-time doubles partner, training with some barbaric old man in the mountains, and returning to find himself in a different room from Bunta, he felt an acute loss. Bunta had been his first good friend in Japan, someone who helped him learn the language and the ways, someone who enjoyed his company, and now they could no longer be together. Of course it was perfectly fine to hang on to a photo of Bunta and cry over it, regardless of whether his dormmates were present. Of course it was perfectly fine to go peeking into Bunta’s room just to catch a glimpse of the other, contentedly sharing snacks and bonding with his dormmates, one of whom was Bunta’s very enthusiastic fanboy – but only until he was caught by Yuushi, who may have been coming to do his own snooping but still had the good sense to pretend otherwise.

What stung even more was that he was no longer playing doubles with Bunta, no longer paired with someone who complemented him so well, and he was left to fend for his own self. Even Yagyuu and Niou were separated and doing fine – although, did Yagyuu really need to make that comment about Bunta looking like he was having fun practicing with Kite? Jackal’s mind instantly jumped to the romantic scenes he had seen in Bunta’s manga and he dashed out of the room, crying. 

Jackal should have been able to get along well with his former teammate and current dormmate, and yet they just weren’t meshing. Perhaps that comment was coming from Yagyuu’s own struggle being separated from Niou and he was simply taking it out on someone. 

Worst of all was watching Bunta play with Kite against those vicious high schoolers, watching his precious Bunta get hurt and all he could do was sit and stuff his handkerchief in his mouth to keep from crying even harder and yelling.

Crying was a perfectly reasonable response to everything.

\---

In high school they continued playing tennis but simply could not focus the way they had in the past, instead needing to devote themselves to the future. Jackal had no idea what lay in store for his own future. Maybe he would take over the ramen restaurant his father ran, which would not require him to attend university. This would also allow him to continue the focus on tennis, but he almost failed to see the reason why he should continue, with everything else so dramatically changed around him.

Sanada, Yukimura, and Yanagi still reigned as the demons of Rikkai and they were headed down the university path along with Yagyuu. Niou and Akaya could have gone down any path, but right now they were fading from the world of tennis and Jackal didn’t see them much. The only constant was Bunta, his childhood friend, always eating up Jackal’s allowance and time. There were girls every so often, as boys in high ranking sports teams were rather popular, and it was very easy for them to charm Bunta, plying him with sweets, and yet in the end (it was always a short trip from the beginning to the end) they always faded apart, for which Jackal was glad. He didn’t like the idea of someone monopolizing Bunta’s time, unless it was him, of course. Sometimes Jackal noticed Yanagi observing them as usual, but now when Yanagi noticed Jackal noticing him, Yanagi would arch a slender brow before returning to his business. 

\---

It happened as they approached the end of high school and people were making their plans known, or having their plans exposed. Jackal didn’t understand why Bunta would throw such a fit about the fact that they were both going to university, and fairly near each other at that, but he did finally understand why he had cried so much during U-17 and occasionally afterward, with “occasionally” being more like every week or two. Bunta had taken to vigorously chewing gum, blowing and popping bubbles with obnoxious rapidity while pointedly not looking directly at Jackal and not suggesting that they hang out (on Jackal’s wallet). With their final season of tennis behind them, there was nothing connecting Jackal to his old friend. He would definitely be crying about this, but now he had learned to save it for later when nobody was around because there would be Looks and Jackal knew full well the meaning. 

\---

Jackal was home for his first university break when the next wretched thing happened. He had managed to deflect new classmates’ overly personal inquiries with some degree of smoothness, and he had gotten rather good at blending in (whether it was genuine or a mere front) to put others at ease with his foreignness, but he missed his friend and everything was piling up onto itself and one comment from his mother had been enough to set him off, crying and running to his room just like he was 15 and Yagyuu had told him some horrid bit of gossip about what Bunta had been seen doing with Kite.

It was his mother who came to him first. They could converse fluently now, and she understood all the nuances of the culture they were in which, despite serving a variety of customers all day long, her husband did not, so she took it upon herself to speak to her child. It had been best for Jackal to concentrate on school, and Jackal’s quiet, serious nature could perhaps frighten off folks and yet she couldn’t help but notice other boys chasing girls, or girls chasing boys, and that with her son it was all tennis and Bunta but now there was neither. After that first visit, during which Jackal was nervous to bring the glutton to his family restaurant of a home, there were many invites and texts and little glimpses flashing through, nervous excitement or resigned silence all hinging on Bunta. Undeniably they were good friends but there seemed to be something else lurking beneath, and this latest happening was a signal that something must be done.

He looked at her, eyes wide and brows furrowed, opening his mouth but failing to speak. If he said it, it would be real. If he kept quiet, he could pretend like it wasn’t.

His mother’s question only brought a resurgence of tears.

\---

After their first year of university, the former Rikkai regulars got together and Akaya joined in, excited to see his former senpai and hear all about college life. When a certain topic came up, Yukimura and Yanagi seemed to know exactly what was going on (scarily enough, they probably did) while Sanada and Yagyuu stoically looked on, Niou seemed disinterested, and Akaya was clueless.

“I don’t think Genichirou has ever had a girlfriend, now have you?” Yukimura wore his dangerous smile, looking at his oldest friend. Sanada had been mid-sip when Yukimura attacked, and he choked, coughing as Yukimura continued to smile at him, goading him into a response.

“His popularity with women has always been near zero, unlike some of us,” Yanagi said, eying the rest of his former teammates, his gaze remaining just a bit too long on Jackal.

Bunta looked at him, and Jackal felt himself freeze. The usual ease between them had fizzled out, replaced by Jackal’s nerves and what seemed to be Bunta’s confusion – or was it hurt? — over this new distance, the way Jackal just couldn’t relax and give a tiny smile anymore. Except for the tears, Jackal had never shown much emotion on his face, and the disappearance of those soft expressions only turned away others even more as he struggled to remain attached to the Rikkai gang.

“Some of us would like to change the topic.” Niou spoke casually, elbows on the table, his head resting in his hands, but he was looking at Yagyuu like he was trying to memorize a passage from a textbook, digging for something underneath the boring, unemotional surface.

As the others brought up new ideas for discussion, the awkwardness around the table began to fade and the noise level increased. Bunta turned back to the food, picking up another gyoza before speaking, quiet enough that others wouldn’t notice.

“Are we fighting?”

Jackal spluttered “no” a bit too loudly, drawing the eyes of their former captain and the data freak, exactly whose attention Jackal did not want.

“Then why is everything so weird? What happened?”

“It’s… we shouldn’t talk about it here.” Jackal hesitated. “Do you want to head to the bakery?”

\---

As everyone gathered up their things and said their goodbyes, Jackal’s heart pounded. This was it.

As he walked with Bunta, they reminisced and discussed the future, Bunta laughing when a particular remark made Jackal’s cheeks flush.

“Bunta… we used to be such good friends.”

“Still are, aren’t we?”

“I hope that you will listen to me seriously.”

“I know you’re a serious guy, but what’s with you lately?” They were nearing the shop, one of Bunta’s favorite haunts during their younger years, a place full of fond memories.

Jackal swallowed, and hoped he could add to those memories.

\---

After some adjustment, Jackal and Bunta were back to their old ways but better because now the pressure was off Jackal and he could be honest if wanted to spend the day with Bunta and pull him close and kiss him thoroughly. Bunta continued to be a drain on Jackal’s money but now they were on proper dates instead of just Bunta stuffing his face as Jackal indulgently looked on. Jackal attempted to maintain some amount of respectful distance which only made Bunta laugh; it was part of what made up the person called Jackal and something Bunta loved.

\---

They decided to get serious a few years later, settling into a mediocre apartment near Bunta’s job as a food scientist and the school where Jackal taught. Settling into the rhythm of working life after all those years in school was a challenge but at least they had each other.

Jackal started wearing glasses and Bunta started gaining weight, and they felt like they were growing up. They worked, went out with coworkers, and came home to the familiar comfort of family. Because that was what they had become, no matter what they told the outside world. Snuggled into the couch with a lazy Bunta making his way through a dozen donuts beside him, Jackal thought life was good. 

\---

At this point, there was no faking it. Bunta and Jackal were building a life together, and that was that.

They had found a cute and sweet cat through Yanagi and they were going to name her Coco for her big brown eyes and matching body. Bunta thought the animal was like a fluffy version of Jackal and jokingly called the other “dad,” which resulted in a strange facial expression that Bunta hadn’t seen for a while. Jackal was quieter than usual that day, contemplating the possibility of being somebody’s father and sighing as he tidied their home, a slightly less terrible apartment than their first one which was also closer to the school. Jackal was surrounded by youths at work but the thought of parenting never entered his consciousness because it was simply so far out there. Things may have changed a lot from the time he was fifteen and crushing on his teammate, and yet they hadn’t changed much at all. 

Bunta, lounging with the cat, did not fail to notice.

\---

As time went by with the cat, they developed a new routine. Bunta, alternating between messaging his little brothers, snacking, and reading the latest novel, let Coco clamber onto his feet and they relaxed together. Jackal, whose work followed him home, would edit old lesson plans to bring them up to date.

It was a chilly spring day, perfect for staying in. Jackal was thoroughly absorbed in test grading, bathed in the warm light from the window, when a little crash brought him to.

“Damn,” Bunta said, picking his phone up off the table. “Akaya is getting married.”

They had both been like parents or older siblings to Akaya, the infant of the Rikkai family, and now this baby would be the first one to move into officially sanctioned adulthood, if only because it was not an option for Jackal and Bunta.

Bunta read out the details of the message and Jackal began flipping through his calendar and budgeting for the gift.

\---

The event itself had been a hellhole of clumsy conversation, until nostalgia reunited old comrades, and commiseration over adult life cemented their friendship. The other Rikkai graduates were truthfully single while Jackal faced the awkwardness of pretending with a weight in his stomach – the weight of lying to the people he had been closest to for his formative years. He and Bunta had decided it would be for the best to continue keeping their relationship secret, and while Bunta skillfully brushed off questions by turning them onto the askers or stuffing his face enough that people moved on, Jackal could not do the same.

Yanagi was finishing his drinks quicker than the others. Although Jackal was still a bit terrified of being analyzed, he felt something in the stiffness of Yanagi’s expression and the hollowness of Yanagi’s voice which pushed him to settle onto the stool next to the other.

Yanagi had been like Akaya’s mother, going out of his way to make sure Akaya woke up in time for morning practice, lecturing Akaya over his insufficient nutrient intake, and watching over Akaya in general, much like Jackal and Bunta had done, but more frequently. It was Yanagi who took it upon himself to keep their youngest teammate in line, getting involved before Sanada had noticed enough to commence his own lecturing and punishment. It was Yanagi who had spent the most time with Akaya and developed the closest relationship, and so it was Yanagi who had the most feelings about Akaya’s wedding.

“Have you been enjoying yourself?” Yanagi asked, trying to be his usual self, but the alcohol had pushed his calm voice and inscrutable face into unfamiliar territory.

“I haven’t been to many weddings. This isn’t bad.” 

“Our generation is ‘uninterested’ in such matters, so of course you haven’t.” Yanagi took a swig while Jackal puzzled over the meaning of the other’s statement.

“Are you talking about that nonsense on the news about ‘herbivores’ and whatnot?”

“There are many things to which I could be referring. You know exactly which.” Jackal could sense the bitterness in Yanagi’s voice, and the look Yanagi gave him was like an arrow piercing through his thoughts and causing him to feel a mild panic. Jackal held the other’s gaze as he floundered for a response, but someone else spoke first.

“Would that be Jackal’s secret?” Jackal’s heart pounded as he turned in his seat to face Yukimura. The same old smile was on their former leader’s face, the same wave in his hair, the same gentleness in the voice even as he spoke poison. 

Jackal thanked God that nobody else was looking in their direction or pausing their conversation to eavesdrop, and he took a deep breath.

\---

_Epilogue_

Dressed in yellow uniforms and standing in a row, Jackal’s babies, big and small, older and younger, were like cute ducks waddling after their mother. It was a sight to make any man cry as they headed off for the first day of a new school year.

All nine of them.

**Author's Note:**

> For the friend who told me “I love Kite/Marui but I want Jackal and Marui to get married and they can have 9 children.” I took it literally LMAO. My interpretation of Jackal’s life is definitely influenced by my own experiences (；ω；)


End file.
